Refund & Repayment Policy

Students receiving financial aid should contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships regarding the effect on financial aid eligibility prior to dropping or withdrawing. To understand the refund/repayment policy, you must understand the difference between a drop and withdrawal.

Dropped courses are courses removed from your schedule before the fee payment deadline.

Withdrawals occur after the fee payment deadline.

Refund Information

Refunds are calculated by determining the point in the semester that the student either drops or withdraws. The calculation is also based on whether the student drops or withdraws from all courses or individual courses.

Refunds during the Drop/Add Period

100% of tuition is refunded for each credit hour dropped during the drop/add period. The refund is applied back to any financial aid that the student was disbursed if the drop results in a change to enrollment status. If the amount of the refund does not cover the amount owed back to financial aid, the student will be billed for the difference.

Refunds after the Drop/Add Period- Withdrawals

A. There are no refunds for partial withdrawals; however, a student will receive a 25% refund when withdrawing from ALL courses prior to the end of the fourth week of the semester. This refund will be applied back to any financial aid that the student received.

B. Withdrawals and Federal Financial Aid (Return of Title IV Funds)

The University of West Florida is required by federal regulation to monitor financial aid students who receive Title IV funds (Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Direct Loans, Perkins Loan and Plus Loans). Students who have officially or unofficially withdrawn from all courses before completing more than 60% of the semester are not eligible for 100% of their federal financial aid.

The University is required to return the unearned portion of the Title IV funds to the Federal Department of Education. Returned unearned aid that is related to federal loans will be applied to the outstanding balance of the loans.

Financial aid that is returned to the Federal Department of Education will become a debt that the student owes the University. This amount will be placed on the student's account and a hold will be placed on the student's account preventing registration, grades and transcripts. Contact the Student Accounts Office for exact dates and repayment requirements (850-474-3037 or stuacct@uwf.edu).

If a student is eligible to receive a refund from the University for tuition and fees, housing, meal plans or other charges, the University will apply the refund against the debt that results from unearned aid.

Official Withdrawal Date - the date you officially withdrew from all of your classes.

Unofficial Withdrawal Date - if you stop attending without officially withdrawing, the last documented date of attendance or participation will be the withdrawal date. If all grades are a combination of F, W, and I (incomplete), your professors will be asked to report the last date of attendance or participation. This information will be used to determine your eligibility for federal aid.

Non Attendance - If an instructor reports that you did not begin attendance in a class, even if you officially withdrew from the class, then your federal aid will be reviewed to determine your eligibility.

Repayment Policy

Repayments

Occasionally, a student will receive financial aid and later become ineligible. This can occur when additional aid is received after disbursement, because unreported resources come to our attention after aid is disbursed, or an error was made in determining an initial award. Regardless of the reason, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships is bound by federal regulation to recover the overaward. Future aid will be reduced when possible. Additionally, any refund from additional aid will be applied to the overaward or the student will be billed when necessary. Until the overaward is paid in full, the student is prevented from registering for classes, processing of academic transcripts, and receipt of any additional financial aid.

Please contact Student Accounts with questions or concerns related to refunds and repayments.